More Grammar Gripes

I've been remiss in discussing the grammar errors that darken the modern literary landscape.  If I were a copy editor at any major newspaper or book publisher I would work myself into an early grave trying to combat all this stuff.

It's "supersede," not "supercede."

What is with the run-on sentences?  If you have an independent clause with a subject, verb, and object then you cannot just slap another independent clause next to it without some separating punctuation.  "I hate Bob and he smells funny" is plain wrong.  Try "I hate Bob, and he smells funny."  Or try "I hate Bob; he smells funny."  Or just make two sentences with "I hate Bob.  He smells funny." 

No apostrophes to create plural abbreviations.  CDs, ATMs, PINs, and the 1990s are all fine without apostrophes.

"Travesty" does not mean "tragedy."  It means mockery or pale imitation.  When I saw a recent newspaper article describe a man's death as a travesty, it struck me that the article itself had become one.

"Data" and "media" are plural, not singular ("datum" and "medium" are the singulars).  If you can't bring yourself to use them correctly, substitute "information" and "press," respectively.

Use the possessive before the gerund.  "I'm grateful for him arriving on time" should be "I'm grateful for his arriving on time."

A possessive cannot be a pronoun antecedent.  "Mike's genius allows him to see the future" is wrong because "him" is undefined.  "Mike's genius allows Mike to see the future" is right.

"Lie" versus "lay."  This one drives me nuts because everyone on God's green Earth messes it up (and no, ending a sentence with a preposition is not a mistake).  "To lie" is intransitive and has no external object.  "To lay" is transitive and concerns what a person does to something else. The confusion seems to stem from the fact that the past tense of "to lie" is, coincidentally, "lay."  People should straighten this out in elementary school, but I'm here to provide remedial education, so let's review:

To Lie (no external object)

Present = lie, lies ("Lie down and take a nap.")

Past = lay ("I lay down for a nap yesterday.")

Past Participle (for perfect tenses) = lain  ("I have lain down for a nap for five straight days.")

To Lay (external object)

Present = lay, lays ("Lay the gun on the ground.")

Past = laid ("I laid the gun on the ground just as you told me.")

Past Participle (for perfect tenses) = laid ("I have laid the gun on the ground just as you told me.")